HIRO Geiger Counter • K52-LND7317

by Atomic.dave Atomic.Dave@yahoo.com
This is a one of a kind custom hand-made Geiger Counter built by Atomic.Dave. It is based on a kit designed by John Giametti (username: Brohogan) All information for this kit is available at the developer’s website. As I have said before, this is more of a kit for someone who knows a little bit about electronics but doesn’t have the time or patience to build it, or would rather someone else do all the dirty work. Having been built by me, of course there will be some imperfections, although as minimal as possible. DIY GEIGER COUNTER DEVELOPERS WEBSITE:

ATOMIC DAVE HIRO LND7317 ver.8.1
This customized first welcome window can easily be changed if you want, by doing a little programming in Arduino. Refer to the DIY site for directions at the SOFTWARE section. The second window will show something like this:

360 CPM to uSv Running at 5.36V
The first line refers to the conversion rate of CPM to uSv/hr for your LND7317 tube (360) this can be changed in the program sketch, with Arduino, but it is set so no change is necessary. The second line refers to the current voltage that your system is running at. This is a 5 volt system. The (4) 2600mAh 1.2v nimh batteries are boosted to 5v with a pololu Step up/down booster. Everytime you start up your GC (geiger counter) it will show you this so you will always know your current voltage. After that, the third window will look something like this:

CPM 48 uSv/hr

| | | | | | | | | | 0.13

On the first line is the current CPM and to the right of it is a graphical simulation of by the second CPM representation. On the second line is the converted uSv/hr. (48 divided by 360) if it was a different geiger tube such as the SBM-20, then the conversion rate would be 175 or 48 divided by 175 which would be 0.27. LEDS Right away, you will hear the beeping of the piezo as your LND7317 GM tube picks up radiation events. There are three LEDs. The BLUE is for radiation events and coincides with the beeping piezo which can be muted with the mute switch just below it. The RED comes on only when the set threshold is reached. On the lower right side of the unit is just above the MINI USB FTDI port is a GREEN LED which is a system status light that comes on when starting up, and when sending data back and forth to either your PC. If the green light ever freezes up, just restart the GC, and it will reset itself. SWITCHES ON the face of the unit is first the Yellow power button, (IN for on, and OUT for off), then the event piezo on/off switch, the Green Display mode button described below, the alarm piezo on/off, then the backlight on off switch. BLACK MENU MODE BUTTON 1. When you first turn on the unit, the third window will prompt you to set the Alarm. If you have not set it yet, it will say Alarm OFF. However if you hold the mode button down the alarm set amount will climb in increments of 10 cpm till it gets to 100, then it climbs in sets of 50 until it reaches a max of 600 cpm, until you let go, and once you let go, that is what the alarm threshold will be until you reset it. As long as you don't reset it, that is the amount it will remain at. I have preset the alarm to 150 CPM. 2. The first display that comes up is the current CPM and below it is the level of uSv/hr. To the right of the CPM is a bar graphic representative of the level of Radiation occuring by the second. The CPM and uSv portion is updated every 4 seconds. 3. Press the mode button and a new display will come up. It is like a stopwatch and as soon as you press it for the first time it will start the timer process where it will give you average counts in a 1 minute and 10 minute period. Until it reaches 1 minute or 10 minutes it will show current total counts. After it reaches those points it will show the uSv conversion on the right column. 4. Press the mode button again and it will go back to the first menu. 3.5MM MULTIPORT At the bottom left side is the output multi-port used for Safecast (with the included Safecast cable), and for Geiger Graph and RAD OSX (with the optional USB/FTDI cable) Just plug in the Safecast cable in with the 3 conductor plug, and the 4 conductor into your iphone or ipad. Or plug the optional FTDI 3.5mm to USB cable into the port, and into a USB on your mac or PC, then follow instructions to run those programs. It also serves as an mono audio output for silent listening with headphones. I have also supplied you with a audio cable that you can use to plug your unit into your mac or pc’s mic input, then you can run audio based geiger counter data logging software such as RAD OSX. However the prefered method is to use the optional cable that is listed below. Google FTDI/TTL-232R-3V3-AJ.

ARDUINO Software and Serial-USB connection information: ON the cd you will find the FTDI driver and Arduino program version 1. Install both and restart your mac. Copy the Geiger Sketch folder to the same folder as your Arduino program is and remember where that is as that will be where you go to save your sketch everytime you make a change to it. There will also be a Library folder that will also need to be in the same folder. Just remember that the folder has to be the same exact name as the sketch name is. And also within Arduino, you will have to go to preferences and show Arduino where your default sketch folder is. ARDUINO SETTINGS: 1. Open Arduino 2. Open the saved sketch .ino file, connect your Geiger counter to the USB with power switch off. 3. Verify the file by clicking the little check mark icon. 4. Click TOOLS, and Select Board type as Arduino UNO, and select serial port as the top tty choice. 5. Click Serial Monitor (top right looking glass icon). Set Baud rate to 9600 and you should see the CPM, uSv and geiger counter voltage data coming up once per minute. For more info go to website under Software section on the DIY geiger counter website. Or go to Arduino.cc Safecast SUGGESTED SETTINGS: (You will probably have to play with it to get it just right- and I used to use Geiger Bot, but it seems that Safecast is more stable and works everytime.) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/safecast/id571167450?mt=8

Auto Adjust OFF (you may need to play with this setting) RMS Window 1 Delay Window 30 Volume Thresh 20000

Ultrafast Rates ON

RAD OSX free data logging for macs: (although you can use the included 3.5mm male to male 3 conductor to 3 conductor audio cable from the multiport to your PC or Macs MIC input, it works best with the FTDI/TTL USB cable below) http://www.blackcatsystems.com/GM/download.html GEIGER GRAPH FOR PC NETWORKS: http://www.imagesco.com/geiger/geiger-graph.html (cost is around $60. Use the Optional FTDI 3.5mm to USB cable) This is a PC only software. To purchase the optional cable go to: www.mouser.com, and do a search for: FTDI/TTL-232R-3V3-AJ HARDWARE 1. DIY Geiger counter kit V4.0 by Brohogan http://www.sites.google.com/site/diygeigercounter/ 2. LND 7317 Geiger Muller Tube 3. Power System by Tenergy and Pololu (please charge the batteries fully before first use) A. You can power the Geiger in a couple different ways 1. With internal nimh batteries 2. With USB cable plugged into data port on RIGHT side of geiger then plugged into: a. Computer or laptop USB b. 5V USB Wall charger block (not included) c. Standard 5v USB Cigarette adapter (not included) d. To power and operate the unit this way make sure POWER SWITCH IS IN OFF POSITION - Its ok to have switch the on for a little while, but DAMAGE MIGHT OCCUR if left this way for long periods- best bet is NOT to do this. e. For long usage of geiger counter (constant on for long periods) the preferred way to power it would be to use the USB cable plugged in right FTDI port and power OFF. POWER and OTHER SYSTEM ITEMS: A. (4) Tenergy Nimh AA battery - 1.2v 2600mAh http://www.batteryjunction.com/1po20aaba.html • Full recharge in 3-7 hours, provides approximately 25-40 hour constant use of geiger counter • Remove the batteries by unscrewing the battery compartment plate. Place in charger and charge. B. Pololu Step Up/Step Down Voltage Regulator S7V7F5 http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/2119 C. Sparkfun 5V FTDI Basic Breakout https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9716

LND-7317 GEIGER MULLER TUBE Installed inside this nicely planned out kit is a PANCAKE LND 7317 which senses Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The pancake tube is mounted to the case by a solid copper bracket, with a galvanized 1/8" mesh for protection and silicon feet. I will be Including and shipping the Geiger Counter inside a Pelican 1060 atmospheric controlled case to protect the pancake from high altitude and pressure implosion during shipping. http://www.lndinc.com/products/17/ ENCLOSURE Dimensions: New Age Enclosure - S784114 - 7.8" x 4.1" x 1.4" (not including handle or feet) http://www.newageenclosures.com/files/784114_r5_2.pdf PELICAN 1060 CARRYING CASE Always, store your geiger counter in this case with the latch securely fastened. This will keep the pancake tube safe and free from atmospheric pressure. Especially if you plan on shipping it somewhere in high altitude. I have personally never had or seen a damaged pancake tube from this situation, but I have heard many horror stories of people even driving with their geiger counters up a very tall mountain, and seeing their pancake implode. As I cannot say that this will happen, I just made the choice to sell and include this case with the unit just as a precaution. http://www.pelican-case.com/pelmiccas105.html REPAIRS: I will be more than happy to do any maintenance or calibration, if you need at no charge except shipping. PACKAGE CONTENTS: In your package you will find: Geiger Counter, Pelican 1060 Case, Lead Pig w/ Samples, (3) Cables: Geiger bot 3 to 4 conductor, Audio 3 to 3 conductor, Mini USB to standard USB2, CD with software and documents, Manual, stickers, extra silicon feet, and extra faceplate label. LND Manufacturer warranty for 7317 tube.

Note: the diode labeled “D/R” is normally a 150Ω resistor. However, if a diode is used note that the symbol shown is backward